The Secret to Excellent Donor Communication

 Nonprofit  No Responses »
Apr 172013
 

daffI’ve seen a few posts, tweets and other advice on the secrets of donor communication recently — Gail Perry had this great post on the most boring words in fundraising last week — and I couldn’t resist offering my two cents:

You’re talking to a person, so act like a person.

It sounds simple, but for organizations and businesses that have developed their communications strategies around press releases, official statements and copy-by-committee, treating your donor like an actual person is challenging.

This has become exponentially more important with the rise of social media. Social media is all about personal relationships and one-on-one interaction. It’s about hearing what other people think and having a conversation with them.

Far too many organizations tweet from up on high, but social media is really about getting down in the trenches with your constituents and geeking out with them about the things you share in common — ideally a passion for your cause. Really, it’s a matter of sounding like you are an individual, a person who actually cares about about what you do. Is that really so difficult?

You can find more lengthy articles with detailed dos and don’ts if you need them. And definitely read everything that Tom Ahern has ever said about donor communication.

But for me, it all comes down to remembering that one fundamental thing: you’re one person talking to another.

What the Veronica Mars Kickstarter Can Teach YOU

 creativity, Nonprofit  No Responses »
Mar 252013
 

There has been a lot written about the Veronica Mars Kickstarter project and its implications for how movies are funded. Launched last week, the project reached its $2 million goal on the first of its 30 days. With 18 days to go, it has almost doubled its initial goal.

I’m excited on a personal level because I was a big fan of the show and am looking forward to watching another 90+ minutes of Mars-y goodness. But what really intrigued me is what the project can teach fundraisers.

If you’re not familiar with the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, check out their FAQ. In a nutshell, it’s a way for artists and other creative types to collectively fund their projects. Musician Amanda Palmer financed her successful album Theatre is Evil via a Kickstarter campaign, and two documentary short films funded by the platform went on to be nominated for Academy Awards.

Though there has been a lot of backlash against the Veronica Mars project – the money is going to fund a movie that the studio will profit from! There are so many worthier causes! These people are millionaires and should fund the movie themselves if they care so much! – there are some really powerful fundraising lessons embedded in this campaign.

  1. They asked. Lots of fans have been clamoring for a Veronica Mars movie for years. The stars of the show and the show’s creator wanted to do it, but it was stuck in development hell, languishing for lack of financial support. So creator Rob Thomas figured out what he needed, explained it to his supporters, and asked them to fund it.
  2. They have a well-articulated plan for the money. They set a campaign goal for the minimum amount they needed and then made a plan for what they’d do if they received more. Donors to the campaign were informed up front exactly how their money would be spent and what their contribution would make happen. They also told people what would happen if the Kickstarter goal wasn’t met and explained why this campaign was the best way for everyone to get what they wanted.
  3. They acknowledged their supporters. Sure, they offered plenty of swag – that’s part of the Kickstarter model. But they also immediately thanked all supporters as soon as the campaign achieved its goal. And they kept thanking them, offering new incentives and updates as the campaign continued.

People have a choice of how to spend their money – and that counts for charities too. The Veronica Mars Kickstarter shows how loyal your supporters can be. Years after the show went off the air, fans jumped at the chance to get one more story from the series.

But it also shows that when you have a loyal base of supporters and you treat them with respect, candor and gratitude, you can fund even your most audacious projects.

 

Asking Well

 Direct Mail, Nonprofit  No Responses »
Dec 192012
 
I want to go to there.

I want to go to there.

The other day, one of my neighbors sent around an email asking to borrow a large duffle bag. The family was heading to Hawaii for 9 days, and they really wanted to take their boogie boards with them but didn’t own a bag large enough to pack them in for the plane trip. They didn’t want to have to buy or rent boogie boards when they got to Hawaii.

Full disclaimer in case said neighbor reads this: I totally would have leant you the bag if I had one like that, and I’m sorry for using your well deserved family vacation as an object lesson for how not to ask for things if you’re a nonprofit. I hope you had an amazing time.

Now, for my nonprofit readers: you can perhaps imagine what my initial, gut-level reaction was upon reading my neighbor’s request. If not, it went something like this: The only way I would be digging around my attic to find a giant duffle bag is if I was going to Hawaii. Buy your own damn bag.

Of course, my rational, altruistic self then kicked in, and I realized that I would love to help, but I don’t own a bag like they needed. And probably someone else did, so really, I didn’t need to go digging around in the attic to make sure.

And then another email came in from a friend looking for childcare so she could go to a party with her husband – their first date in the two years since their son was born.

My gut-level reaction to that request? YES, I would LOVE to help you out.

When you’re asking your donors for money, are you making the right pitch?

Both my neighbors and my friend were asking for something that wasn’t completely necessary. There were no lives at stake, just convenience and fun.

My neighbors made a practical, extremely logical pitch: It would be a waste of money to have to buy new boogie boards when we could just take ours with us if we had a bag. That logic got my brain working, but it didn’t exactly make me feel like being generous.

But my friend made an emotional pitch: We haven’t been out alone together in two years! That heartfelt request moved me to immediate action, and I thought, “I can make that happen for her.”

When you’re asking your donors for support – or your friends for a favor — remember: emotion wins the day.

Celebrating Milestones

 Nonprofit  1 Response »
Dec 102012
 

A funny thing happened to me last week. My oldest child turned 10.

I know, really it happened to her. But it’s strange for me to think about the changes the last ten years have brought to my life as a direct result of her presence. In a very real way, I owe her much of my progress as a writer and creative consultant to nonprofits. Having her was an earth-shattering, highly focusing experience.

So after the dust settled from her sleepover party and all-around over-the-top birthday celebrations with family and friends subsided, I decided to take a few minutes to celebrate my own journey over the last ten years, reflect on what I’ve achieved, and plan for the next decade.

The process is ongoing for me, but it also made me think about my clients and their upcoming milestones. So much excitement and opportunity — so how can we take advantage of it?

Does your nonprofit have a big anniversary coming up?

Anniversaries are a good time to reflect on the past and set new goals for the future — individually and for nonprofit organizations. Sometimes you find you simply need a course-correct. Other times, a full-on reinvention is required. And while much of this work will be internal, there are ways to celebrate publicly…and perhaps induce your donors to give even more to commemorate your milestone.

Here are my key suggestions, cautions and ideas for celebrating your nonprofit’s anniversary with your donors:

  • First up, you have to remember that donors generally don’t care as much about the anniversary as you at the organization do. With a few exceptions, they’re not going to give solely because you’ve suddenly reached 25 years (or whatever anniversary it happens to be). It doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate it with your donors, but I would caution against making huge projections based on it being an anniversary year.
  • See if you can get a challenge grant from a major donor in celebration of the anniversary. You know that a good Challenge Grant will spur other donors to give, and pinning that challenge to a big, sentimental anniversary might give it a bit extra oomph.
  • Can you segment out charter/founding donors? If so, give them special treatment for their longevity. These are your most loyal donors and the ones most likely to be invested in your anniversary, so make sure they know they are the reason you reached such a monumental milestone.
  • You might consider designing a special anniversary edition of your logo, to be used just for that one year. Using that in all donor communication will help remind them that it’s a special year/exciting time for the organization. Maybe even try using a retro look — old fonts/logos that were used/popular the year you were founded. Anything you can do to make your donors feel sentimental (read: emotional) about your organization will inspire more giving.
  • Consider revisiting some of your early success stories. Tell donors again about the people you’ve helped, the battles you’ve won, the previous milestones you’ve celebrated. Can you profile someone whose life you touched early on, give a “where-are-they-now” update? Even better! Remind your donors why they gave to you in the first place, and they’ll be more inclined to give again and keep giving.
  • Above all, try to use the anniversary as a way to remind donors of all the great work they’ve accomplished over the last xx years and then tell them your plan for this year (and the next xx years). As always, keep it simple and compelling. Remind them that they made this anniversary possible.

Anniversaries are a great opportunity for your organization as a whole, and they can also be a good hook for fundraising as long as you always remember this key: it’s all about your donor. Stick to what your donors care about in fundraising, avoid showing them the internal details of your reflection, and make them feel like a part of your organization’s past, present and future.

Where Space Exploration and Fundraising Collide

 creativity, Direct Mail, Nonprofit, Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Aug 072012
 

Like many people the world over, I was thrilled to see that the Curiosity Rover landed successfully on Mars this week. I showed my kids the first pictures and answered their questions about space exploration. (I think my 5-year-old’s mind was officially blown by the news that a ROBOT took that picture!)

But even as my kids were getting more and more excited about space exploration, I saw the tweets racing by lamenting the money spent on sending a rover to Mars when there are so many problems here on Earth we need to solve.

I’m not going to write a comprehensive defense of space exploration. If you wonder what the value is, check out this interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, or read his newest book. But I will say that many of the things you and I use every day — everything from our cell phones and computers, to athletic wear and tennis shoes — were originally developed for NASA.

Imagine what might be achievable if NASA had reliable funding and the freedom to aim for truly audacious goals. What alternative fuels or advances in solar power technology might be made? What cool new fabric might make sweaty summer runs like the one I took this morning even more comfortable?

A lot of fundraising departments I work with are just as starved for funding as NASA. In an effort to be efficient and streamlined — to put as many of those dollars they raise toward programs as possible — too many nonprofits are denying themselves a chance to innovate, evolve and, ultimately, do even more to further their missions.

Instead of aiming for the big and complex mission to Mars, they’re content to run the same near-Earth orbit mission over and over again.

It’s easy to play it safe. After all, nobody wants to be the one who bets big and loses. But your donors can tell the difference between an organization that’s hanging on to the status quo and one that’s charting a bold and energetic course for the future. Guess which one most of them prefer?

Investing in your fundraising efforts — whether it’s in increased time, money, energy or vision — can pay huge dividends.

Test boldly in your direct mail, and you can find out what appeals to your donors and target your fundraising more effectively. No more incremental nudges. Let’s find out what happens when you take an entirely different creative approach, or aim for a new universe, or aggressively go after lapsed donors.

Take the time to coordinate communications and fundraising department efforts, and you can pool talents and develop strong messaging that helps inform and enlighten people about your efforts. (Bonus: unless you have to bribe them with donuts to sit in a room together, this won’t cost you a cent!)

Spend a little more on personalization — in the mail, on the Web and in your face-to-face efforts — and you can foster better relationships with your donors…and reap the benefit of increased giving.

And another bonus of investing in your fundraising is that in doing so, you might just find other ways to cut costs that don’t stymie innovation.

I’m excited to see the pictures and read about the discoveries that Curiosity sends back to Earth. It’s a remarkable achievement.

But I also get really excited when I work with an organization that is committed to exploring all the ways they can improve their fundraising. Be bold. Be daring. Dream big. Show your donors how much passion you have for your mission, and watch as they reward you with their loyal support.

Is That Really True? Storytelling Ethics Part 2

 creativity, Direct Mail, Nonprofit  1 Response »
Jul 302012
 

Well vacation and a mountain of work came between two pieces I had hoped to post a little closer together, but I do want to follow up on my earlier post on storytelling ethics, with a set of basic rules to follow for nonprofits.

Those rules are a great start, but I don’t think that’s the end of the discussion at all. Because when I was asked the question, it brought up a lot of other, related ideas about storytelling, ethics and the nature of truth and fiction that I think are valuable to explore.

What is truth?

If you work for a nonprofit of any size, you probably see hundreds of stories coming through your organization each year. And I’m willing to bet that many, many of these stories have a commonality to them that can, sometimes, make them seem indistinguishable from each other.

It’s probably easy for you to generalize about the people you serve: “Our clients are predominantly [insert three adjectives that describe the typical constituent here].”

So is that generalization true?

What if you put the generalization into story form by creating an amalgam? Could you give it a name, a set of circumstances and a story arc and still call it “true”?

I’ve worked for organizations that had no problem with this definition of the truth, believing that slavish adherence to the details of the stories in their organizations undermined the true spirit of their work. I’ve also worked for organizations that would never, ever consider using an amalgam, certain that it was lying to their donors.

Truth in Fiction

It may be because I am a fiction writer as well as a copywriter that I fall more into the first camp than the second.

Think about memoir for a second. Memoir is generally considered to be a form of nonfiction. But memoirists also take liberties with dates, places, names and timelines in order to create a more cohesive story, while staying true to the overarching themes of their work. Looking at it another way, memoirists lie to preserve the truth.

And some of the “truest” writing I’ve read is fiction. Sure, the facts may not be there, but truths of what it means to be human are often found in fiction, and can serve to inspire as well as — or sometimes better than — nonfiction.

But…

But we’re talking about nonprofit storytelling here, not memoir, not fiction. Making up stories whole cloth and pretending they actually happened in your organization will not serve your purpose well.

Lying is a crummy thing to do to your donors. It betrays their trust and is an extremely poor way to repay their generosity.

Still, it is extremely easy to turn a compelling story into a boring collection of facts. And while your donors never deserve to be lied to, you certainly don’t want to put them to sleep.

So as I mentioned earlier, use the constraints of the truth to up your creative game. Remember to hit as many of the five senses as you can. If you’re interviewing someone, really listen to what they’re saying about how they felt so you can convey that to your donors.

Your organization’s storytelling ethics deserve careful thought and consideration. Make sure you can justify your stance — to your board, to your employees, and above all, to your donors.

And, as always, be creative about how you tow that line. Nonprofit storytelling should be about taking your donors on a journey with you, not just about telling a story and asking for money.

Is That Really True? Storytelling Ethics Part 1

 creativity, Direct Mail  3 Responses »
Jul 022012
 

I’ve been quiet recently — a combination of end-of-the-school-year craziness and looming deadlines. Now, summer seems on the verge of appearing here in the Pacific Northwest, and in between sunny runs by the reservoir and neighborhood cookouts, I’m going to try to put in a few more appearances here at the blog.

During the non-stop action of the last month, I’ve been spending a lot of time mulling over a few really interesting questions someone recently asked me about storytelling ethics.

How true does a story we use in fundraising have to be? Can we change names? Can we fudge details or timelines? Do people ever make up stories entirely?

I gave a fairly evasive answer: how literally truthful you are in your organizational storytelling is up to each organization to decide.

But I was curious how others might answer that same question. As I began researching the issue, I started contemplating ideas of truth and fiction and where we draw the line between the two.

Let me say up front that I still don’t have a better answer to the original question. I do think it’s a discussion each organization needs to have internally and then convey to any consultants or writers they bring on board.

But I did find some helpful basic guidelines to follow as you have these internal conversations.

A Basic Ethical Stance

In my initial burst of research, I came across this article by Joanne Fritz on the ethics of changing details in stories. She interviews two noted experts — Lisa Sargent of Sargent Communications and Pamela Grow of Simple Development Systems. Both take a firm stance on changing details, agreeing that it is sometimes necessary to protect the identities, particularly of young people, of those whose stories you want to share.

They urge nonprofits to take three key steps: get written permission, alter or hide key personal details, and be transparent with your donors.

This is great advice, particularly for nonprofits working directly with clients, such as a nonprofit helping clothe foster children, or a drug addiction support organization, for two examples. Activist groups and other large-scale groups may be gathering stories that are of a less personal nature, so they may not have to worry about protecting identities as much.

But from what I see in the mail that comes across my desk, the toughest thing about these standards is the transparency portion. Sure, you can simply add a disclaimer into your letter. But please be clever and creative about how you do that.

Because as soon as you say, “some of this story isn’t 100% true” your donor is going to stop reading your pitch and start examining your story to see what details sound made up.

And once you lose ‘em, you lose the chance of a gift.

If you need to use a disclaimer, weave it into your story. Instead of a an asterisk next to a message saying “Details have been changed to protect identities” try appealing to your donor’s sense of empathy:

“Joanie was really nervous about people learning her secrets. But she knows how important it is to get her story out there, so she’s agreed to let me share it with you, as long as I protect her privacy.”

Adhering to strict ethical rules does not have to kill your creativity, nor should it. Always try to push yourself to find the most organic and natural way to adhere to your standards, and your nonprofit copywriting will shine that much brighter.

The rules I mention above are a great starting point. But I think storytelling ethics deserve more thoughtful consideration. So please check in later this week for more thoughts on storytelling, ethics and where (and how!) to draw the line in your own organization.

All Aboard! Use storytelling to unite and inspire

 creativity, Nonprofit  Comments Off
May 222012
 

I had the good fortune to present at the Willamette Valley Development Officers fundraising conference in Portland, OR earlier this month. My friend and business partner Amy Blake and I debuted Super Storytelling, our comprehensive how-to on storytelling and story-collecting for nonprofits. (If you attended that session, thank you so much!)

You can see the slides from our presentation here, and we hope to offer the presentation again live and on the web soon. (Stay tuned here and at the ARC Communications website for details!)

In the course of preparing for the presentation, I did a lot of research about the power of story to get the word out, educate and inspire. And since there wasn’t time in the presentation to talk about all the exciting things I discovered, I thought I’d do a little brain dump here.

One of my favorite resources was Story Proof: the science behind the startling power of story by Kendall Haven. In the first couple of pages, I learned that people have been sharing stories for 100,000 years. (Not being up on my pre-history, I was pretty impressed humans had been around that long!) All that storytelling has left our brains hardwired to learn through stories and to think about life in story terms.

Haven spends a lot of time in the book going through actual neuroscience studies that clearly show that we learn better, engage more and remember details through stories. Psych studies back this up, too. And if that isn’t enough for you, he includes dozens of anecdotes showing just how well it works. From schools, to corporations, to the World Bank, people have discovered — by accident and by painstaking work — the power of storytelling.

For nonprofits, one passage in particular stuck out to me:

“Want to develop a sense of belonging and buy-in in your organization? Collect and refine the stories of your group members that best embody the attitudes and outlook you want to promote. Actively tell these stories and encourage others to create and share their own.”

If you want to get your donors to remember you, if you want them to understand and appreciate the importance of your work, and above all, if you want them to give, all the statistics in the world aren’t going to work for you as well as one good story.

Make stories a key part of your fundraising strategy. Engage everyone — fundraising folks, program people, volunteers, board members, execs, constituents and even donors — in collecting and sharing stories. Value all contributions and share stories wherever and whenever you can.

Once you do, you’ll find — as Haven reports in anecdote after anecdote — that the effort pays off in remarkable ways. People love stories, and when you foster a culture of storytelling, it builds on itself. People become more engaged and committed to your mission, and they pass on that engagement and commitment to newcomers.

Bottom line: Create a community of storytellers in and around your organization, and you’ll inspire your staff to greater heights, lead your donors to greater giving, and ultimately, enhance the effectiveness of the critical work your organization performs.

The Simple Truth About Direct Mail Rules

 Direct Mail  2 Responses »
Mar 262012
 

Fundraisers new to direct mail often ask me about “the rules”.

Do we always need to write 4-page letters?

I’ve heard you should always include a P.S.

What do you think about premiums? Should we make a tote bag?

We have this great program that people love, so I know it will make a good appeal theme, right?

And they are invariably surprised when, instead of the one- or two-word answer they expect, I send them a 300-word mini-essay answer to their simple questions.

Because the simple truth about Direct Mail “rules” is that until you test them on your donors, they’re not “rules” at all.

Yes, I — and any other consultant with a few dozen campaigns under their belt — can make recommendations based on what we’ve learned to be true through mountains of experience. I would say, for example, that for most Acquisition and special appeal mailings, a 4-page letter will probably do better, you should include a P.S., and let’s have some longer conversations about premiums, programs and what you hope to accomplish.

But those of us who have worked with multiple organizations over the years can also probably point to that one client whose campaign results consistently forced us to toss all our hard-won direct mail wisdom out the window.

You have to start somewhere. So start with the generally accepted rules of direct mail creative. But make sure you test them. Test everything. Test tote bags against t-shirts. Test four-page letters against two-pagers. Test photo-filled packages vs. plain-jane packages. Test different themes. Test, test, test!

Find out what YOUR donors respond to, and you’ll have your own set of rules for direct mail.

Mind Your Manners

 Direct Mail, Nonprofit  Comments Off
Mar 162012
 

Nothing says "Thank You" quite like pie. Acknowledgement letters are nice, too.

Everybody talks about how important acknowledgements are. It seems to be generally understood that if someone is generous enough to give you a donation, the least you can do is thank them.

So why are so many organizations so bad at it?

 

I can’t tell you how many times a client has said to me, “But it’s so expensive to send a thank you letter for every gift!” Or even better, “But it’s so much work!”

 

I’m sorry, but I don’t accept that excuse from my 7-year-old, so I’m certainly not going to accept it from an organization I give money to.

 

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you can’t afford NOT to send acknowledgements.

 

An old boss of mine used to preach to all of her clients about the importance of including a reply envelope in acknowledgements, saying, “There’s no better time to get another gift from a donor than when they’re in the ‘rosy glow’ of having just given.”

 

But even if they don’t give again right away, your thank you letter is a critical tool for future giving.

 

Done correctly, an acknowledgement does three things:
  1. It thanks a donor for their support.
  2. It tells the donor what that support has accomplished so far.
  3. It tells the donor what their continued support can accomplish in the future.

 

Many of my current clients also put information about planned giving and sustainer programs into their acknowledgement packages, too. They’re great vehicles for getting the word out about other ways to give to the organization. (Remember the ‘rosy glow’!)

 

But however you thank them, make sure you do thank your donors. As Mal Warwick says, “If you run a responsive donor-acknowledgement program, you’ll gain a competitive advantage that will pay off in higher renewal rates and greater loyalty.”

 

And who doesn’t want higher renewal rates and greater loyalty?
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